Social media users were cackling after police in England shared a computer-generated image of a burglary suspect that bears a striking similarity to Pete Buttigieg, the United States Secretary of Transportation.
Authorities in the town of Tunbridge Wells posted an image to X, formerly Twitter, “of a man they would like to identify in connection with a burglary. Police said that a "90-year-old homeowner heard the intruder upstairs after returning to the house from her front garden" and that "the man claimed he was a police officer before leaving the property empty-handed.”
You can see the post below.
Kent Police
Buttigieg has not commented on the image himself but for many, the resemblance was uncanny.
Others didn't agree though and suggested the police image more closely resembled billionaire Elon Musk.
Funnily enough, this isn't the first time English police's CGI images of suspects have gone viral for resembling celebrities and public figures.
In January 2019, British authorities detained a suspected thief whose "Wanted" photo went viral due to his supposed resemblance to Ross Geller, a character portrayed by actor David Schwimmer in the iconic sitcom Friends.
Police in Blackpool initially shared the blurry CCTV footage of the suspect in October 2018, showing him allegedly taking a crate of beer from a restaurant. Lancashire police later confirmed the arrest of Abdulah Husseini in London for theft after he allegedly missed a court appearance at Blackpool Magistrates' Court on theft and fraud charges.
Similarly, in 2022, authorities in Hertfordshire released an image of a man they were seeking in connection to a theft, and social media users noted his striking resemblance to former soccer star David Beckham.
The Hertfordshire police shared a surveillance photo of the man, stating that he "could assist with our inquiries following a theft" from a construction supplies store in Bishop's Stortford. However, the real Beckham was actually in California, spending time with his family at Disneyland and sharing videos and photos on Instagram on the day of the theft.